The real use of this invocation is to be a sort of toolbox necromancer. You don't create hoardes of undead. You collect corpses, throwing them in Bags of Holding or Portable Holes until you need a specific zombie or skeleton (or are in a situation where a particular one would be useful). Then, pull out the suitable corpse, animate it, and stuff the corpse back in when the duration expires (possibly before).

It also lets you create allies in the middle of a battle with multiple enemies. They can be rather helpful, though not necessarily fighting directly.

If you really feel that a particular skeleton or zombie would be useful on a more permanant basis (such as a centaur zombie for a very good packhorse), then Dead Walk gives you the option (although I would personally just recast the invocation). Use of this feature is animating a minion to stand gaurd somewhere or to stay with someone that you won't be with all the time.

The invocation isn't that powerful, but it can be dead useful and a worthwhile choice if used correctly.

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I am constantly amazed by how many DM's ban Tomb of Battle. The book doesn't even exist!

It is stated DFA invocations would require DM intervention. Not true, one feat published on a web article is basically extra evocation and lets you take another classes evocations. A DFA handbook I saw recommended warlocks take the the infinite identify one. The handbook links to it, so it be findable if the thread survived The Conception the upgrade.

Another race to consider for Warlocks is Beguiler from Shining South. +6 Dex, +2 Int, small size, natural attacks, climb speed, hide bonus, and True Sight are really quite snazzy (roll an 18 for a stat, place it Dex, and you're looking at a +8 to hit with your Eldritch Blast at 1st level). The -4str hurts but is really not necessary anyways for a warlock. With Invocations and a high Bluff check you can pretend to be another party member's very powerful familiar.

I don't know much about the warlock, but for a sniper version, it seems like woodland archer might be nice ...

woodland archer +darkstalker +Nightmare's made real

At higher levels there is the invocation which gives greater invisibility, but at higher levels this can often be seen through ...

Thoughts?

Best,David

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Some Cool Quotes: [spoiler]

Quote from: unknown

Non-PC activities like out of combat healing should be left to wands and NPCs. It's not fun to play a walking wand of CLW. Likewise, being a combat wall is not a viable PC role. A Wall of Force could do that.

-Sort of, but you left out the important note that a Wall of Force does it better.

Quote from: Runestar / skydragonknight

The most powerful character is the one that you actually get to play.

Quote from: Operation Shoestring

I often have to remind people not to underrate divination. The ability to effectively metagame without actually metagaming beats the ability to set things on fire more times than not.

Non-PC activities like out of combat healing should be left to wands and NPCs. It's not fun to play a walking wand of CLW. Likewise, being a combat wall is not a viable PC role. A Wall of Force could do that.

-Sort of, but you left out the important note that a Wall of Force does it better.

Quote from: Runestar / skydragonknight

The most powerful character is the one that you actually get to play.

Quote from: Operation Shoestring

I often have to remind people not to underrate divination. The ability to effectively metagame without actually metagaming beats the ability to set things on fire more times than not.

I've always wondered where the alignment restriction comes from. Looking at the Warlock's alignment section, it says they're often chaotic and often evil, but it doesn't seem to say that's a requirement in any way.

As long as you want to continue taking levels in warlock, you must be any chaotic or evil. You lose no abilities if you don't meet these requirements, but you can't take more levels.

This is an instance of fluff being worded softer than rules text. Hell, you can become L/N and still take hellfire warlock, but not warlock. It's goofy, but RAW.

Really goofy. So there are no infernal warlocks? Unless they "change sides" and become a Hellfire Warlock? I guess the authors of the original Warlock class never heard of The Nine Hells of Perdition, and Devils that like to give mortals power in exchange for their souls. This restriction makes even less sense than the monk one.

No, you can be a N/E or L/E warlock, but not N/G, L/G, or L/N. It's like the druid's, bards and barbarian's restrictions. The fluff doesn't support it well, and I hate the flavor myself (Love tha abilities though).

As long as you want to continue taking levels in warlock, you must be any chaotic or evil. You lose no abilities if you don't meet these requirements, but you can't take more levels.

This is an instance of fluff being worded softer than rules text. Hell, you can become L/N and still take hellfire warlock, but not warlock. It's goofy, but RAW.

*Checks.* You're right. That's really dumb. That's really, really dumb. Particularly since all you have to do to become a Warlock with regards to fluff is be born to some lineage that has something to do with some moderately dark cosmic overpower.

As long as you want to continue taking levels in warlock, you must be any chaotic or evil. You lose no abilities if you don't meet these requirements, but you can't take more levels.

This is an instance of fluff being worded softer than rules text. Hell, you can become L/N and still take hellfire warlock, but not warlock. It's goofy, but RAW.

*Checks.* You're right. That's really dumb. That's really, really dumb. Particularly since all you have to do to become a Warlock with regards to fluff is be born to some lineage that has something to do with some moderately dark cosmic overpower.

Moderately dark or fey Love my unseelie warlocks. My Eldritch Theurge with that template ended up with like DR 15/Cold Iron or something...not quite a DK, but not too shabby.

EDIT : And this means among other things that you can wade right through the average army with impunity, which is very warlock-y IMO Roll in an item giving Cleave and Great Cleave, and start chopping down the mortals with EG

Oh, unseelie are dark. Unseelie are really dark. In fact, the fey courts as a whole are pretty damn vicious.

Not all fey are unseelie though. I will admit the fun ones are, and the unseelie are dark as hell...but then again I've never been one to shy away from that Hellfire is like Rabies in D2...everything tastes better with Rabies!